Chapter 3

The agonizingly long ceremony finally came to an end.

The dressing room door unlocked, and Corinna appeared in the doorway.

She was rubbing her temples, looking drained. "I'll make this up to you. I'll go over to your parents' place later and explain everything to them..."

"No need," I cut her off coldly. "They are my parents, not yours."

She had nothing to do with them anymore, so she didn't need to bother.

She froze in shock.

"Don't talk out of spite," Corinna sighed wearily. "You know how much pain Darren is going through with his illness. What harm did it do to let him have his way just this once?"

Even now, she firmly believed she had done nothing wrong and continued to defend Darren.

For a moment, I honestly didn't know what else there was left to say to her.

"Call it spite if you want," I said flatly. "I'm packing my things and moving out of the house today. I'll have a realtor put the property on the market. If you want to keep it, wire my family's share of the down payment to my bank account."

Spotting my parents standing in the corridor nearby, I brushed past her. "We're done," I said, rushing over to them.

Several relatives were already crowding around my parents.

As I approached, I overheard someone sneering, "How did he end up getting dumped on his own wedding day?"

My Aunt Brenda was already busy lecturing my parents. "I've always said a man needs to be dominant! Look at him now, letting a woman walk all over him. Getting replaced on his wedding day―what an absolute embarrassment!"

I pulled my parents behind me, my heart aching at the humiliation on their faces. Disregarding the fact that she was my aunt, I snapped right back.

"Are you my aunt or Corinna's aunt?"

"Her swapping grooms at the last minute shows she has zero morals and no integrity. Her doing it behind my back shows she lacks basic respect for me. What does that have to do with whether I'm dominant or not? If I had known even a day earlier, she wouldn't have been standing at that altar at all!"

Aunt Brenda turned red with embarrassment and walked away muttering under her breath.

My mom took my trembling hands in hers, her eyes filled with deep worry.

I forced a comforting smile. "I'm fine, Mom. It's better that we didn't get married. I don't want her anyway."

After putting my parents in a cab, I drove back to our newly bought home alone to pack my belongings.

I had spoken decisively, and my mind was entirely rational.

Yet emotions were impossible to control completely.

Tears kept betraying me, silently streaming down my cheeks as I packed.

Corinna and I had decorated every corner of this house together.

It was filled with traces of our life.

The little ceramic slow cooker on the counter was something she bought when she found out my stomach hurt after business dinners, swearing she would make me nourishing chicken broth every week.

The walk-in closet was customized by her because she saw me like a post about a girlfriend designing a dream closet for her partner.

When it was finished, I teased her for making it too flashy, but she just wrapped her arms around my neck, giggling and begging for kisses.

Corinna and I met during our college years and survived a year of long-distance dating after graduation.

Back then, she put in so much effort to pursue me.

During her confession, she told me that watching me debate passionately on stage made me look radiant.

Back then, I was the shining light in her eyes.

Now, she found me suffocating and controlling.

The light she once loved had somehow become an eyesore to her.

I packed my things piece by piece, stripping away the memories one by one.

When everything was boxed up, I realized that seven years of history fit into a single cardboard box that barely reached my waist.

Just as I was wondering how to drag the box out to the dumpster, the front door swung open.

My best friend, Brett, rushed in like a hurricane.

The moment I saw his familiar face, the tough front I had maintained completely crumbled, and a wave of bitterness hit my nose.

Brett pulled me into a fierce bear hug, patting my back hard. "If I knew this would happen, I would've agreed to be your best man so you wouldn't have had to face that mess alone."

Brett had hated Corinna for a long time, despising her indecisiveness and refusal to cut ties with her ex, to the point where he refused to attend my wedding.

He had warned me harshly that marrying Corinna would only bring regret.

To put it bluntly, if Darren lived, he would be a constant third wheel; if Darren died, how could I ever compete with a dead man?

Because of that argument, Brett and I had stopped talking for months.

Now, it turned out every single word he said was true.

I was endlessly grateful to have a friend like him back in my life.

With Brett around, the following days were much easier to bear.

He had originally scheduled a business trip specifically to avoid my wedding.

The second his plane landed and he heard what happened, he rushed over, terrified I would do something reckless.

He even took his annual leave just to keep me company, which touched me deeply.

On the day he was eagerly planning to set me up on blind dates, Corinna showed up at my front door.

I scoffed inwardly. Since the trash had come knocking on its own, it was time to take it out.

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